Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in Orion
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. At 488 light years away, it is the 10th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.45.
Betelgeuse (HIP 27989)
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. At 488 light years away, it is the 10th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.45. Betelgeuse is a component of a multiple-star system. The iron abundance of Betelgeuse is +0.09 (123.0% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 30.4 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 24,400 and 28,500 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It came closest to the Sun 3.5 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude -0.34 from a distance of 339 light years.
Sky position: RA 5h 55.2m, Dec +7° 24.6'
Common designations: Betelgeuse, Alpha Orionis, 58 Orionis, HIP 27989, HD 39801
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Brightest stars in Orion:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 1 | 0.18 | Rigel |
2
| 0.45
) Betelgeuse
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 3 | 1.64 | Bellatrix |
| 4 | 1.69 | Alnilam |
| 5 | 1.74 | Alnitak |
| 6 | 2.07 | Saiph |
| 7 | 2.25 | Mintaka |
| 8 | 2.75 | Hatsya |
| 9 | 3.19 | Tabit |
| 10 | 3.35 | Eta Orionis |
| 11 | 3.39 | Heka |
| 12 | 3.59 | Tau Orionis |
| 13 | 3.68 | Pi-4 Orionis |
| 14 | 3.71 | Pi-5 Orionis |
| 15 | 3.77 | Sigma Orionis |
| 16 | 4.06 | Omicron-2 Orionis |
| 17 | 4.09 | Phi-2 Orionis |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of Betelgeuse
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 7.8% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : -27.7°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 8,110 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 8,085 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 633 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 8,061 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 7,477 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 8,743 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Betelgeuse
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 88.79287149° ±0.71 mas | 27.54 ±1.03 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | 7.40703653° ±0.58 mas | 11.30 ±0.65 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 199.78722164° | 3.51 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -8.95867751° | 29.56 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 6.55 ± 0.83 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: M4Ib 2008ApJS..176..216A.
Radial Velocity: 21.91 ±0.51 km/s [A rating] 2005A&A...430..165F.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
0.09 dex
2011A&A...525A..71W.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | 4.38 | -1.50 |
| B | 1.95 | -3.93 |
| V | 0.45 | -5.43 |
| R | ||
| I | -1.55 | -7.43 |
| J | -2.99 | -8.87 |
| H | -4.01 | -9.88 |
| K | -4.38 | -10.26 |
B-V: +1.50 V-I: +2.00
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 149.79 pc (12.7% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,539 pc
Transverse velocity: 21.1 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -139.2 pc | -50.1 pc | -23.3 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -22.6 km/s | -10.8 km/s | 17.3 km/s |